Summerslam 2011 - CM Punk vs John Cena - WWE Championship w/ HHH as Special Ref

[Nate DaMac]

Having each earned the right to call themselves the WWE Champion, John Cena and a returning CM Punk will collide at SummerSlam in Los Angeles. There, these dynamic Superstars will determine who deserves the right to become the undisputed bearer of the WWE Title at The Biggest Event of the Summer.

For the first time since the title’s inception in 1963, two ring warriors are in possession of the WWE Championship, thanks to Punk’s shocking re-emergence on the July 25 edition of Monday Night Raw. Just moments after Cena had bested newly crowned WWE Champion Rey Mysterio that night to win the title for a ninth time (his eleventh World Title overall), a smirking Punk confidently strode down the entrance ramp to offer his own unique form of congratulations to The Champ – by confronting Cena and holding his own WWE Championship high above his head.


Aiming to provide some semblance of order to this complicated WWE Championship scenario, WWE’s Chief Operating Officer, Triple H, mandated the following week that both titleholders clash at SummerSlam, with the victor going down in the history books as the one, true WWE Champion.

At WWE Money in the Bank – held in his hometown on what was believed to be his final night as a WWE Superstar – Punk accomplished what many believed to be an impossible feat. Despite Mr. McMahon’s best efforts to ensure that The Second City Savior would not leave WWE with its most cherished prize fastened around his waist, Punk ultimately finished off The Cenation Commander-in-Chief with a Go to Sleep to ensnare the coveted title before vanishing from WWE forever … or so we thought.

With Punk’s controversial victory and subsequent departure seeming to vacate the WWE Title, The Chairman scheduled a tournament to establish a new champion. Although the tournament was successful in naming a new WWE Champion in Rey Mysterio the following week, it would come to be known as Mr. McMahon’s final executive decision. Citing a vote of no confidence from WWE’s Board of Directors, Triple H relieved his father-in-law of his duties, revealing himself as the new COO of WWE.

In his first-ever “State of the WWE” address, The Game announced the beginning of a new era under his regime. Chief among The King of Kings’ decrees was a WWE Championship Match pitting Cena against The Ultimate Underdog on the same night Mysterio won the title for the very first time. Ever the fighting champion, The Master of the 619 was more than willing to put it all on the line against Cena, whose hustle, loyalty and respect prevailed that fateful night in Hampton, Va. For the second time in as many hours, a new WWE Champion’s hand was raised high in victory.

However, The Champ had little time to savor his incredible WWE Title win, as his victory celebration was crashed by the returning Straight Edge Superstar, who made it abundantly clear to the WWE Universe that “the best in the world” was back to question the legitimacy of Cena’s reign. However, thanks to The Cerebral Assassin, such questions will indeed be answered at SummerSlam.

Will CM Punk solidify himself as the undisputed WWE Champion? Or will John Cena make The Second City Savior regret stepping back into a WWE ring? To find out, tune in to SummerSlam, August 14, live on pay-per-view.

The match was made official tonight on Raw, which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. They need a big match to headline to Summerslam and this is the obvious choice to go with.

These 2 had an amazing match at Money In The Bank and while I'm skeptical that they could duplicate it, I'm certain that the match will still be great.

Thoughts on the Summerslam main event?

 

[beefthelegend]

Unfortunately, this is my greatest fear, that all of this, the winds of change blowing, was just a round about way of pushing John Cena harder than ever.

When he conquers CM Punk, he will have vanquished a "true enemy of the WWE Universe" who held the title in the vacuum of space for...*gasp* two weeks!

And thus, the return of Super Cena, the return of, as Punk eloquently put on Raw, Status quo.

Honestly, I have no doubt they'll put on another 4/5 star affair. Because it's CM Punk. If you watch MITB, he led Cena, the WHOLE match. I'm not trying to detract from John Cena here (okay, well, I am) but, I'm sayin CM Punk could lead a blind and deaf man through a match- though that is no excuse for pairing him up against Randy Orton again (Buzz Zing!)

But I think that all the hype, all the buzz (Espn has been droppin 'E references like it's lucrative again!), everything they have worked up through the summer will be gone, and it will be the same old shit as every month, Cena, once again, at the top of the WWE.

I think Cena makes a better title chaser. Face it, ANY of his championship runs have been less than memorable. But the build up to any Cena/heel match has him as the white hot (yet believable) baby face.

Lastly, to see Cena take the Belt from Punk would no doubt mean that Cena would certainly take the belt into the match with the Rock. It's no secret, Rock's comin to Survivor Series to light that Fuse back up. And If Cena is involved in a title match (say against, a recently Cashed-in-money-in-the-bank Champion Del Rio), you'll see Rock get involved, Cena triumph, you can't see me, annoying music, end of show. That feud has transcended the WWE title, and has made the Rock winning wholly unbelievable (Chances they have two champs walk out? Nada).

I'm just sayin. The match quality will be great...but it's the outcome that bugs me the most.

 

[MooseMichaels]

After watching RAW tonight and seeing Punk begin to get himself over with the crowd, even while heckling Cena fans, I have to wonder if Punk has this one shot. I think SummerSlam will make or break this direction with his character. That aside I am looking forward to another great match but I fear the outcome.

Punk has beaten Cena clean twice now. Once on RAW and then MitB. That being what it is makes me think that Cena will probably come out on top. Ideally I would have Cena lose & get story-line injured so he can take time off to rest until the 4 week lead up to Survivor Series and the return of The Rock.

 

[nxtgeneration]

so cena got his rematch against the champion who wasnt the one he lost the title to (rey mysterio) on the same night as mysterio won it, yet there was no whispers of rey getting a rematch? im hoping that they do something where they make it a triple threat, even if rey has no chance, just so the match at summerslam isnt compared to the MITB match, cause i t was so good it will be hard to surpass

 

[FozzyRocks2009]

I agree the match is quality wise great but the outcome is almost predictiable and scary....also I find it kind of sad that after all that happened, I mean so many people watched MITB because they wanted to know "What was going to happen" and then to have Punk actually win was awesome. But then they have Punk come back 2 weeks later only 2 weeks later, and before that they just have a tourney to make a new wwe champ like eh Punk left So!...now he's back and he is saying simple answer 2 men 2 titles 1 match...bada boom bada bing 1 TRUE Champion.

SIDE NOTE: I work during Monday Night Raws sometime due to my job so I subscribe to WWE Mobile Alerts. I find it funny that my last text tonight was and I quote "Triple H made a decision about the WWE Title tonight on Raw. John Cena and CM Punk will meet in the first-ever Undisputed WWE Championship Match at Summerslam!.....I hate when WWE thinks that us long time fans forget about shit FIRST TIME? What the hell was that match called again between Austin and Y2J at Vengeance..Undi Undis oh yea Undisputed....just saying and I know let the ball bashing of me begin I am making something out of nothing but still just saying. It's annoying another quick example is saying 13 yrs later E&C are best friends when in 99 it was brothers

 

[Shane Pro Wrestling]

I reckon CM Punk is definitely going to win at SummerSlam. If they want the feud with Punk and HHH to continue long-term then CM Punk has to go over. CM Punk would have no ammo/bragging rights without the WWE Title.

Survivor Series is 4 months away. If WWE really wants to create a moment with a WWE Champ Cena and The Rock confrontation, then make the title change hands RAW in October or the Vengeance PPV.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I don't know why people are bitching. Yea it was a predictable decision, but sometimes something is that predictable because it's so obviously the best thing to do.

Anyone else notice that Cena got louder pops at the end with the belt? On Smackdown when Triple H did the whole "Cm Punk........and John Cena........" thing, Cena outpopped him there too. I'm telling you, it's textbook mass appeal vs underground appeal. In Boston and Chicago where there is a heavy smark influence Punk outpops Cena, but everywhere else it's Punk.

I'm really excited for SummerSlam. Punk and Cena should be great, LA being the more mainstream type of city but a big enough event for smarks to go out of their way to attend I think the audience will be more 50/50. Gonna be fun.

I don't mind WWE calling this the "first ever undisputed WWE title" because technically, that's right. Last time it was to unify the WCW and WWE titles, so it was just the undisputed title, not undisputed "WWE" championship.

I also don't mind because this is pro wrestling and 6'5" Abyss is "near 7 feet" and the Ladder matches contain "20 foot ladders". Wrestling is full of exaggerations. Anyone remember how in WCW every night was "the greatest night in the history of our sport"?

 

[Notorious718]

I'm stoked. These two had a GREAT match at MITB but I'm skeptical of they'll be able to top it. The feud thus far has been excellent and the build up is great. Was this move predictable? Yeah but who cares? As long as the match is good (and if MITB is any indication, it should be), I really couldn't care less.

I am a Cena fan but I'm actually gonna pull for Punk. I really want to see Punk have a good run with the title belt as opposed to it just being hot potatoed. Besides, if Cena doesn't win the title at Summerslam then I have no doubt he'll get it back at least once more before Wrestlemania. In my opinion, Cena transcends the WWE title and really doesn't need it at this point. But I guess what it ultimately boils down to is how much faith management has in Punk to represent the flagship show as its champion. I'd love to see it.

My official prediction is John Cena retaining but I'm pulling for Punk here for the sake of him being given the ball and rolling with it. I'll personally be happy regardless of who wins.

 

[klipz.nbd]

I personally would have liked to seen this be a Triple Threat with Rey Mysterio put in the match as well. However, I am excited to see these two square off again. Like "beefthelegend" stated above, my biggest fear is Cena winning this match.

This is all just a ploy to make Cena get over more than ever and Punk will drift back down to the mid-card. You can hear in the fans that they all want Cena to be champ, and this is the one reason WWE keep going back to giving him the title.

While watching this I am going to find it hard to get into knowing Cena will most likely walk away the winner, however in the back of my mind I will be PRAYING that the wwe does the right thing for the storyline and makes Punk walk away victorious.

 

[bEEjX]

"Anyone else notice that Cena got louder pops at the end with the belt?".. I heard him get louder screams from little kids, and louder boo's mixed in than Punk did.

I've got a feeling their match at SS won't end cleanly. Whether it's HHH, Kings of Wrestling making their debut to help, maybe Cabana? I dont know. What I do know is that I believe Punk will walk out of SS as the champion but it will not be a clean victory.

Just my opinion.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Few things:

1. Rey Mysterio will not be involved, which is good, seeing he has no place in this match. I don't care what happened on Raw - this is about Punk and Cena.

2. This doesn't need to be a gimmick match - doesn't need a cage, different set of rules, etc. Just an old fashioned, straight-up wrestling match will work.

I have high hopes for this. On ESPN Radio, Punk said he saw some weak spots in his last match with Cena (at MITB). I agree. I thought it was great, but not quite on the level everyone else seems to be placing it. Imagine this match being better than the last - that, right there, is plenty reason to purchase this PPV.

I don't see some monumental shift in the say WWE does business coming from this feud like a lot of you, so it's impossible for my hopes to be shattered. Punk isn't becoming the face of the company. We aren't entering a new era. Calm down, and enjoy what should be an absolute classic.

 

[Harthan]

Hard call, hard call, much as it was a hard call last time these two danced. The rumors going around are del Rio with a fall title reign and HHH and Punk feuding, so that seems to indicate a Cena victory here, which kind of sucks, but what are you going to do about it. They're not going to stop giving Cena titles until he's dead, at this rate.

As far as the quality, I don't know. I feel like the WWE had a once in a lifetime kind of environment and build to the MITB match and it'll be damn had to replicate that, especially with a crowd that'll be 50/50 at best. We know this match works with Punk working as a heel from their various TV matches, but can it reach the heights of their MITB match? (****1/2 to *****, depending on who you ask) I won't close the book on it till it's all said and done - these two have loads of chemistry and are both very good at what they do. We'll see what happens.

I don't think Cena winning is a bad thing, myself. I think Punk is a made man as far as the main event goes, so it's not like they've got to strike now, give him his run, then ship him back to the upper midcard (see: Mizanin, Michael). Punk hasn't seen the end of his days as a champion, and a high profile feud with HHH while Alberto gets his moment in the sun is probably a good idea. I'm open for the WWE doing just about anything from this point on, though, as long as it keeps Punk in a prominent position.

 

[AngryCenaFan]

This is dumb.

Punk is the only and true champion.

He has not violated the 30 day championship defense clause, it is ridiculous that Cena gets to be recognized as champion even though he lost. I am SICK of Cena being in all the championship matches his act is OLD AND STALE

 

[prestonluv]

2 years ago my kids and I loved John Cena.
1 year ago i started to dislike John Cena.
3 months ago my son started to dislike Cena.
Now my daughter is the lone Cena supporter(not for long)

I hope the WWE gets this slow drift away from Cena that is happening cause i am sure we are not the only family who is like this.

The point is...the more we see of SuperCena the less we like of him. The more we see of the Cena who had the great promos with the Rock leading upto wrestlemania the more i will like him.

Cena better not win this fued(not sure if it ends at summerslam)...he better fn not. I am so sick of his screaming, yelling, positive talking bs. He is painful to listen to nowadays and the next WWE event that i goto with my kids i am going to run around yelling cena sucks to all the young uns with cena shirts on just for cause i can.

WWE needs to get it right this time.

 

[DD7]

Well I think that this may better MITB but we will have to see, I just hope they don't spoil it because its been a great run so far. They could add a shocking ending which nobody expects just to keep things interesting. But I think this will go into Night of Champions because the name itself is just fitting for this story.

 

[RickD82]

Im really hoping Punk wins the match, whether its clean or not. It will kill this whole thing if Cena wins. Another thing that nobody has mentioned is the WWE Title itself. Since both men have the same title and its supposed to be a Undisputed Championship match.. are we finally going to see a new WWE Championship Belt? Please if nothing else i want a new WWE Title. Everytime i look at that damn Spinner belt i want to change the channel because it just, to me, stands for all the change and all the pg bullshit that the wwe has become... also Cena. I just dont see how for the last 6 years that title has stayed around. Its like if Austin's Smoking Skull belt stayed even though he wasnt champion and not only stayed but for 6 painful years.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

"Anyone else notice that Cena got louder pops at the end with the belt?".. I heard him get louder screams from little kids, and louder boo's mixed in than Punk did.

I've got a feeling their match at SS won't end cleanly. Whether it's HHH, Kings of Wrestling making their debut to help, maybe Cabana? I dont know. What I do know is that I believe Punk will walk out of SS as the champion but it will not be a clean victory.

Just my opinion.

Who gives a fuck, a reaction is a reaction. 90% of people on here will tell you those boos are good. Cena wants the smarks to boo him. Cena gets more people emotionally involved.

I don't know if it will be a clean victory or not. Logically you book for the future. With Hell in a Cell fairly soon, I can see them stretching this out to that. Which means the heel (Punk) wins. If they aren't gonna book this throug hell in a cell, your next ready-made feud is Punk vs Mysterio. They have a past and Mysterio can legitimately claim he deserves a rematch.

I see Punk winning, but there are lots of different ways they can go with this.

 

[I_Am_Electro_Boy]

I'm looking forward to this match. I think it could be better than the MITB match simply because they know what works and what doesn't now. I think and hope CM Punk wins the match, he's only been the real champion since MITB so I can't see him losing it for a while.The match certainly won't end clean and I think there's a lot of potential endings. I'm just hoping that whoever wins ADR doesn't cash in and win because I want the current Cena Vs Punk feud to continue.

 

[brain51983]

Best way to end this match if Cena is to win is to have HHH interfere in the match and then have HHH and Cena hug while Cena is holding the belt. Next night on RAW Cena comes out and bashes the fans, pretty much do a Hogan turn except the problem is he's so over that I don't know if it's even possible to make Cena a full heel ever.

 

[Sheamus' Suntan]

Why would HHH get involved? Because he's been called a "doofus"? CM Punk will claim that he's the reason for HHH getting IN the role to start with...and to a degree is right, his "I'm leaving" movement started the ENTIRE role change angle.

Cena won't be turning. Again. Business sense as the above poster said.
Make a Wish.
7 Eleven.
Just about every anti bullying campaign they WILL ever do.

They need someone to replace and figure head these. Would Punk? Honestly? Nope.
Would Orton? Doubt it.

As much as everyone WANTS Cena to turn, he won't...

As for this match...I don't think they will out do MITB. Purely because of the arena though. This arena is more mainstream and will carry less of the IWC than the Chicago based event. Therefore the atmosphere will probably be a bit more bland and less of an indy follow. In all fairness while the match was awesome at MITB, the atmosphere MADE it. If the atmosphere was dead, the match would have been...a good match but not as good. The atmosphere finished it off...

I don't see the Summerslam atmosphere being the same. I see it being hot but not as hot as the MITB one and therefore the match will suffer to a degree. It's also going to be difficult to come up with so many great moments as the last match. There's only so many counters you can come up with to a standing firemans carry after all...and most of them were done at MITB. My worry is this match becomes a 25 min fest of one guy trying to hit a finisher, then another. I would like this match to REALLY tell the story of the two titles more than anything.

 

[theBusiness]

I'm scared Cena is going to win and kill all of Punks momentum. Same thing happened last year when he defeated the Nexus. That was one of the best storylines in so long and that loss at Summerslam killed the whole angle imo. Hopefully history does not repeat itself. I doubt they will top their MITB match, but I know for sure it will still be a good bout. I have a (small) feeling that Vince will get involved and cause Cena the match. Vince/Punk alliance? Hmmmmm....

 

[Nada]

One major problem here is that all 3 parties, are faces here. Cena, HHH and even Punk, all are faces, so something has to give.

Cena wont turn heel, WWE is simply too scared to pull the trigger. If the ratings were in the 4's they would have

Punk cant turn heel, because a big portion of people will still cheer him on

So that leaves HHH, and for 3 reasons i think he will turn:
1. A authority figure in rasslin' works much better as a heel than as a face, there is just much more to do with it.
2. HHH is a lousy face, he is a good heel
3. Every wrestler that comes back from a injury or otherwise is naturally in most cases a face, fans miss him/her. Once the honeymoon period is over you can turn them.

This sets up a Punk - HHH feud, if they do this, then Punk has to win against Cena at SS, which is hard to believe since WWE protects Cena so much.

Naturally i predict Triple H will turn but somehow cost Cena the match, this sets up one feud, HHH vs Punk, it turns HHH heel, it protects Cena. This also sets up another feud for later, HHH vs Cena.

When i say HHH vs ____ i mean in a Corporation vs Austin kind of way, dont expect too many matches out of Trips, he might ally himself with Alberto del Rio or Miz or just any other heel and use them to fight off Punk/Cena

MITB ADR could cash in his MITB but i honestly think they have screwed things up, because if he cashes in and wins, that will be yet ANOTHER GOD DAMN champion, we went from Cena to Punk to Cena/Punk to ADR in mere weeks, its just waay too much even in this era of hotshotting the belt. It is down right WCW 2000

 

[The Perfect Max]

I'm really looking forward to it and I do believe that the match will be as good as the one at Money in the Bank, but not as long. Also, I think the match won't end cleanly, and that Triple H will interfere, causing CM Punk to lose the belt.

It is either that, or Colt Cabana or the Kings of Wrestling or both will intefere, causing John Cena to lose the belt. This option I would greatly prefer, however, like CM Punk said, status quo. John Cena must be WWE Champion at these big events and prevail. Shame.

Side note: Anyone notice that Cena's belt and Punk's belt on the picture is completly different. Punks "W" looks like it is spun round, whilst Cena's has stayed the same. As far as I was concerned it didn't spin anymore. I believe No Mercy 2007 was the first time we saw the non-spinning WWE Championship toy. Just saying.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

The decision to book a title vs title match was predictable but I think that the angle was very well executed. The only other somewhat remote possibility was that one guy would be stripped of the title and even that possibility was well sold by both guys. I also liked the fact that HHH mentioned that Punk signed the contract just after Cena won the previous week. Little things like those certainly add a lot to the storyline apart from making things look logical. For example it seems that Punk is back only to take on Cena and might not have resigned had Rey won last week.

We all know that Punk and Cena are going to tear the house down with an excellent match at Summerslam. The atmosphere might not be the same as that at MITB but the workrate certainly will. Onto the juicier discussion as to who will win, I would go with Punk.

See, the way I am looking at it Punk has already won his feud with Cena. When the stakes were undeniably much higher, for both men, if I may add, Punk overcame Cena in a mostly clean fashion and proved that he was the better guy. Cena lost his job, the company's title and it took some major upheavals at the top to restore the situation somewhat. Cena took responsibility and he failed. What will Cena prove if he defeats Punk when the stakes are much much lower as compared to MITB? That he is good when he isn't under pressure? What will that do for Cena?

Also I feel that this feud is transitioning into an HHH vs Punk feud by the second which is itself, I believe, a result of Punk having already "won" his feud against Cena. That is why I feel that a Punk victory at SummerSlam makes even more sense. If Punk becomes the Undisputed WWE Champion, he can use that power to lambast HHH even more, and this time, maybe even in the mainstream media. I can see HHH getting more and more desperate and maybe interfering in a Punk vs Cena match at Hell in a Cell. Now you may argue that it could be done even at SummerSlam but I think that the angle will be much better if HHH's desperation at Punk being the WWE Champion is highlighted even more. HHH should be shown as a guy who is maintaining a cool demeanour on the outside but is cracking under the pressure underneath. And I think, that that can only be done if Punk wins the title at SummerSlam.

 

[Frozen Fire]

i feel Punk will win the "undisputed WWE title" at SS cleanly. the match will be solid but nowhere near the match they had at MITB. after that for the next month, till night of champions, Punk will keep provoking HHH insulting him and his family..... until HHH uses his COO powers to place Punk in difficult situations and matches. Punk however will prevail each time causing more frustration for HHH. finally at HIAC HHH will cost Punk the title either to Cena or Del Rio and also his rematch at the next PPv Vengeance. then Punk will lay out a challenge to HHH for Survivor Series. i know this was the type of booking in the Attitude era.... anyway this is just wishful thinking on my part for the "reality era".....